Listen, If You Want to Take a Cruise On a Replica Of the Titanic, That’s Your Prerogative

You remember the Titanic, right? The massive British passenger liner that was deemed unsinkable, but then hit an iceberg and sank anyway in 1912? Leonardo Dicaprio? “I’m the king of the world”? Of course you do.

Australian billionaire Clive Palmer must not be as familiar with the Titanic as the rest of the world, because he’s decided to forget history and recreate the original cruise ship, according to Travel + Leisure. The whole damn thing.

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Set to hit the seas in 2018, the Titanic II will be a fully functioning cruise liner, complete with all the same trappings as the first—plus a few more lifeboats.

The ship will have the capacity to accommodate 2,400 passengers and 900 crewmembers. Titanic II has already successfully passed safety standard tests and has implemented modern evacuation procedures, satellite controls, a digital navigation system, and radars that you’d expect to see on any 21st century seaworthy ship.

That’s fine and all, but you’d have to be nuts to set foot on a ship called the Titanic II.

If you want to get your cruise on—and many people do, as a record 24 million people vacationed by ship this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association—there are plenty of better options that aren’t exact replicas of the friggin’ Titanic.

“It’s all about river cruising right now—with smaller ships and amazing excursions,” says Lindsey Woodcock, travel consultant at Jet Set World Travel. Setting sail on a smaller-scale ship allows for a less dramatic and more personal vacation, with the added perks of being able to do more than just eat, drink, and sit on a large boat with a ton of strangers.

“It’s typically the smaller ships that offer more intimate experiences, a variety of excursions, and pre/post cruise opportunities,” says Woodcock. “Companies are doing surf and ski small boat cruises, which are awesome.”

Here are six infinitely better cruise ideas than spending 7 days at sea hoping you don’t hit an iceberg.

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Aqua Expeditions: Peru and Cambodia

Aqua Expeditions offers small-scale river cruises on the Amazon and Mekong Rivers. Ditch the boat and take a day trip to mountain bike, paddle, hike, and visit local villages during the 3-, 4-, or 7-night expeditions.

Trade the cruise ship for a house boat and take an African safari by water with Zambezi. The floating hotel has a history: It was built in the early 1990s, and was first designed to carry guests on extended journeys from Katima Mulilo down the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers and back. Now you can book a 2- or 3- night safari on the vessel.

Lindlad partners with National Geographic to curate its cruise itinerary, so you know you’ll get “very experiential cruising,” Woodcock says.

You can choose to cruise in the Galapagos, Alaska, Scotland, and a dozen other destinations, with the opportunity to travel in the company of world-renowned scientists, naturalists, and researchers. Explore natural environments alongside the adventure experts using state-of-the-art tools.

If you’re going to take an all-inclusive cruise, this is how you do it. Aside from indulging in free food and drinks onboard, you also get daily yoga and fitness classes while floating down the most iconic rivers in Europe: the Rhine, the Danube, and the Main.

Add two complimentary, curated onshore activities in every port throughout your cruise (think trekking, kayaking, and cooking lessons), and you have one hell of an adventure on your hands.

Luex shrinks the ship down to a chartered yacht size, but the trips remain huge.

The Arctic Circle Ski Cruise is the stuff of adventure dreams. While traveling aboard the Arctica II ship, you spend your time aboard floating the fjords of Spitsbergen while searching for Norway’s best ski slopes. Once ashore, play in deep powder and shred mountains.

If skiing and snowboarding aren’t your thing, spend the days trekking, kayaking, and embarking on wildlife zodiac cruises.

This once-forbidden island isn’t so forbidden for travelers now. Seize the opportunity to be one of the first Americans to experience the vibrant cities and historic regions of Cuba with Ponant’s 9-day, 8-night cruise. It includes round-trip airfare to and from Miami, transfers, and excursions ashore.

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